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| Research released last week found there are dozens of likely worlds - including Pluto (pictured) and its moons - that could harbour alien life. Researchers at Arizona State University are trying to anticipate how humans would react if a discovery such as this came back positive |
- Psychologists believe we would be positive about finding out aliens were real
- Scientists looked at responses to five 'alien' announcements in the last 50 years
- Nasa believes there are dozens of worlds that could harbour alien life
- The space agency believes alien life will be found in the next few decades
WILL WE FIND ALIEN LIFE?
Nasa scientists have claimed alien life could be found within the next few decades.
Experts say the search is heavily guided by characteristics of our own planet, helping scientists to weed out inhospitable worlds from those that may have promise for life, such as the icy moons Enceladus and Europa.
Nasa scientists are looking for environments that contain both oxygen and methane.
When these two gases are found in the same atmosphere, 'you've got something special,' the space agency says.
'There are ways to build up oxygen and methane in a planetary atmosphere, but the only way you could have both in the same atmosphere at the same time is if you produce them both super rapidly,' said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.